H&S (Offences) Act 2008 – The Sting in the Tail

Sentences are set to increase for businesses that commit health and safety offences with the introduction of new legislation. The Health and Safety (Offences) Act 2008, which comes into force on January 19, raises the maximum financial penalty for breaches of health and safety legislation, and makes imprisonment an option for most offences. Certain offences will carry a maximum prison sentence of 12 months for cases heard in the Magistrates’ Court, or two years in the Crown Court.

The new regulations do not place any additional health and safety responsibilities on companies. But the Act may cause a significant increase in fines for 2009.

In theory, the Act shouldn’t increase the number of prosecutions for health and safety offences, as companies’ duties in this area haven’t changed. However, for fatal accidents, investigations under the Corporate Manslaughter Act place the management and organisation of a company into the spotlight, which could very well lead to ‘satellite litigation’ of directors and senior managers.

We are still awaiting guidance from the Sentencing Advisory Panel on financial penalties for corporate manslaughter. A starting point of five per cent of turnover has been suggested, or 2.5 per cent for other health and safety offences.

This has a real sting in the tail. The Offences Act has opened the door for more health and safety offences to be sent to the Crown Court, which has the power to impose unlimited fines. If the panel’s suggestion is confirmed, then the door is well and truly beaten down, and there could be much higher fines for health and safety charges in 2009.

Filed Under: Health & Safety Blog Articles

Warning About Mobile Phone Ruling

Businesses should be warned about a recent ruling which could increase the number of prosecutions for drivers caught using a hand-held mobile phone.
In a recent case a district judge ruled that the act of switching off an alarm on the phone was constituted as ‘using the phone’.

Although the driver wasn’t using the phone to make a call, a police officer saw the driver’s hand and his thumb was moving across the keys. The judge ruled that it didn’t matter what the driver was doing, because any use of the phone (such as switching off an alarm) amounted to ‘using a hand-held phone’.
If the judge is correct then this means that drivers who own multi-purpose mobile devices that offer a range of functions are prevented from undertaking any hand-held function whilst driving.

This could include holding the device and switching it on with a view to making a hands-free call via bluetooth, or holding the device before placing it into a USB port to listen to music. It seems that these activities would be classed as ‘using the phone’ and therefore have to be carried out whilst the vehicle is parked.

Filed Under: Warning About Mobile Phone Ruling

Asbestos is the most lethal workplace killer

Every year 4000 people die of asbestos which is more than those in road traffic accidents. In Great Britain we are in the middle of an epidemic and it is expected that asbestos deaths will to peak to nearly 5000 which is a legacy from years gone by.As part of an ongoing asbestos awareness raising campaign the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has launched a web video, “Asbestos the hidden killer” featuring Tom King a carpenter by trade, who has been diagnosed with the terminal lung cancer, mesothelioma. The video can be viewed at www.hse.gov.uk/asbestos/index.htm

Recent research conducted by HSE shows that young tradesmen, such as plumbers and electricians, know that asbestos is dangerous but just don’t believe that they are personally at risk. This campaign reminds tradesmen that unless they take precautions asbestos could kill them too.

Filed Under: Asbestos in the Workplace

At-Work Drivers

Some employers think they don’t have to worry about the Corporate Manslaughter Act because their business is low-risk.  However, if they have people driving on business, they need to have an urgent rethink.

The first organisations are already being investigated under the new Act following at-work deaths.  Up to now, none of these actually involve death caused by an at-work driver.

 

Fleet operators in particular, are being warned that at-work road deaths will be investigated much more aggressively by the police under the new Corporate Manslaughter Act, which came into force in April.  Before April, it was virtually impossible to prosecute a large corporation for manslaughter, but things have changed dramatically now.

 

Fleet managers finding it difficult to get board approval for new policies e.g. licence checks or random drug and alcohol testing of drivers, need to highlight to their management team that they may now risk being fined 10% of turnover!

 

Sentencing guidelines will be published early in 2009 and the indications are that the authorities are taking this much more seriously and will press for tough sentences.  In addition the company may be forced to advertise its failings in the form of TV or press adverts, which will highlight that it has been found guilty of Corporate Manslaughter.

 

At work drivers are more likely than almost any other employee to be involved in a fatality during their working day.  Companies must have robust systems, adequate procedures and checks in place to manage the risks.

Driving at Work

Filed Under: Driving at Work
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